NHTSA Complaint #10981320 — 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK

THE HEAD GASKETS ON MY VEHICLE HAVE DEVELOPED LEAKS AT JUST OVER 80,000 MILES. THIS IS A FREQUENT (AND KNOWN) PROBLEM WITH THE HEAD GASKETS ON THIS VEHICLE. ALL SUBARU-SPECIFIC MECHANICS, MANY OWNERS OF THIS MODEL AND EVEN SUBARU DEALERSHIP EMPLOYEES HAVE EXPRESSED KNOWLEDGE OF HIGH FAILURE RATES FOR THIS HEAD GASKET AT APPROXIMATELY 80-100K MILE INTERVALS. THIS IS WAY SHORTER LIFE THAN SHOULD OCCUR AND RESULTS IN A $2000 OR GREATER COST OF REPAIR (IN MY CASE, $3200!). SUBARU HAS BEEN AWARE OF THIS DEFECT ON PREVIOUS MODELS AND EVEN HAD CLASS ACTION SUITS RESULTING IN RECALLS FOR PREVIOUS GENERATION OUTBACKS YET HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THE DEFECT.